Sophie was extremely happy, no doubt. After all, it wasn't everyday she got to hear a heart deep love confession from the man she was crazy about.
She'd been shuffling around in bed all night, giddy with excitement-- much to Ama's annoyance. She hadn't even gotten that much sleep but she felt more alive than she'd ever been. But why was she suddenly nervous at the thought of seeing him again?
Few minutes after their 'conversation,' Angel had come barreling back into the room after deciding she'd given them enough time to have their discussion, oblivious to what was going on. She didn't step out of the room until Sophie was ready to leave as well. Alex had asked her if she would be visiting today-- as if that wasn't already a given-- and she had promised that she would. Now for some reason, she was finding it hard to even move her feet out of the room.
Ama who had been watching her keenly for the past few minutes spoke, interrupting her reverie, "What's going on? You've been ready to leave for about fifteen minutes now. When you got back yesterday bai, you started acting like a child who had just tasted ice cream for the first time and your eyes have practically been glued to the clock ever since, so I'm very surprised that you're still here at all."
Sophie sighed, searching for the right way to explain her predicament to her friend. "The thing is... I'm kinda nervous."
Ama responded with an amused and disbelieving look. "And what about if I may ask?"
"I don't know," Sophie admitted. "It's just... You know how Alex is. He's hot one minute and cold the next. He's had more than half a day to change his mind." She finally voiced out what was bothering her.
Ama gave her a sympathetic smile. She had a fair idea about what was going on in Sophie's head. "Maybe. But you won't find out by sitting in your room, worrying yourself to death. You seriously need to stop over thinking things."
"I know, but..." Sophie shook her head as if to shake away the numerous thoughts clouding her head. She knew Ama was right but she really didn't want to get there only to find her doubts confirmed. That would be a blow too hard to recover from.
"Seriously, stop over thinking and just go already," Ama reaffirmed, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze.
Sophie smiled gratefully, already feeling her nerves disappearing, even if only slightly. Although Ama's words were playful most of the time, she still had a way of soothing Sophie with them and Sophie was more than grateful for that. "Thanks, Ama."
Ama shrugged off her gratitude. "Yeah, yeah. What would you do without me?"
* * *
Alex was the lightest he had been for years. Not even his prolonged stay at the hospital was enough to dampen the high mood he seemed to be floating in, a constant reminder of how much better his life seemed to have gotten in less than one day.
The previous day, Dr Andrew had eventually had to kick Sophie and Angel out, insisting it was time for him to rest. He hadn't seen Raymond the rest of the day but that didn't bother him. He was glad he had worked things out with his brother. Although he felt a bit guilty that he had been so into his own pain he had been oblivious to what Raymond had been passing through, it wasn't anything like the guilt he'd been previously carrying. It wasn't all gone, honestly but now he knew better than to let it get in the way of his happiness. It was finally like a huge weight had been lifted off him.
"Come back to earth, daddy."
The sound of hands clapping snapped Alex out of his thoughts and he turned his attention back to his grinning daughter. She had been all smiles since she arrived at the hospital in the morning. He was sitting on the edge of his hospital bed and she was sitting right in front of him, waving both hands in his face.
Playing along, he chuckled, "Come back to earth from where?"
"I don't know, dad. You're the one who just zoned off. I have no idea where your mind went off to," Angel retorted, giggling.
Alex shook his head, laughing silently. When exactly had she gotten that saucy? He was sure he'd missed it. "Well, I'm back now. What were you saying?"
Angel smiled bigger, glad that she'd gotten back his attention. "I asked you when Aunt Sophie's going to get here."
Frankly, he had been wondering the same. It was mid noon already and she was usually around by that time. What was keeping her? A part of him was worried that he'd freaked her out when he'd revealed his feelings for her. Had it been too less or too much?
To his daughter, he replied, "I'm sure she'll be here--"
The words were lost in his head when the door opened and revealed the one person he'd been yearning to see all morning, his brother right on her tail. He was overcome with a sudden wave of relief, his tensed shoulders sagging in relief. She hadn't bailed on him.
"Aunt Sophie!" Angel jumped off the chair and in a flash, she was wrapped around Sophie who had thankfully seen it coming and had braced herself for the impact.
"Okay, I take offence to this," Raymond declared, tugging Angel off Sophie and into his arms. "You have to choose right now. Who's your favorite? Is it me or Aunt Sophie?"
"Really?" Sophie laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're unbelievable."
Angel looked stricken at the thought of choosing. Her face constricted into a tight frown and she tapped her index finger against the side of her face, as if in thought. Making her decision, she pointed said finger to Sophie, much to Raymond's dismay.
Sophie spun around doing a victory dance and exchanged an high five with Angel. Raymond's eyes took on an evil glint as he began to tickle the girl mercilessly.
Angel laughed hysterically, squirming against his strong hold. She wheezed, "S-st-stop ple--"
"I'm going to ask again, who's your favorite?"
"Y-you!"
"Awww," Raymond cooed. Satisfied, Raymond put her down gently, smiling like he just won the lottery. "I always knew I was your favorite."
Sophie rolled her eyes and hissed, "That was cheating."
"You're just a sore loser," Raymond retorted before walking over to Alex and giving him a light punch on the shoulder. "Hey, bro. How are you doing?"
Alex shrugged. "Except for the permanent bruise you probably just left on my shoulder, I'm fine, thank you."
Raymond chuckled, hitting him again.
"Hi, Alex," Sophie's voice was soft, almost tentative.
"Hi," Alex replied automatically, the edges of his lips curving up. The gentle smile on her face and the way her gaze was slightly averted almost undid him. She seemed so shy and it was all too cute.
He didn't realize he was practically ogling her until Raymond cleared his throat loudly, his eyes flitting between the both of them with a knowing glint, his eyebrow raised cockily.
Alex snorted, ignoring the look his brother was throwing at him. He turned his attention back to her. "So, what took you so long?"
Sophie very obviously fumbled for the right answer. It was relieving that he didn't seem to be having second thoughts but this was all still unchartered territory for her. "I um... I had to do... Things."
"Oh, okay." He was confused and it wasn't just about the rather vague reply she had given him. There was something off about her generally, she looked uncertain and uncomfortable. He wanted to know what exactly was running through her head.
Raymond must have recognized they had things to say to each other because he mumbled something they couldn't really make sense of and whisked Angel who surprisingly didn't oppose, out of the room.
The air around them seemed to get thicker with only the two of them in the room, the unspoken words hanging around them. Alex almost cussed himself out for being as nervous as he was right now. It was an unwelcome but mildly refreshing feeling.
Sophie was avoiding looking at him and Alex was all too aware of that. He was overcome with the need to bridge the gap that had suddenly formed between them.
"Hey," he called softly. She willed herself to look back at him and the uncertainty was clear in her eyes. The need to soothe her grew stronger. He tapped the space beside him in silent invitation.
Hesitantly, her gaze slid from him to where his hand now lied. She chewed on her lip before sighing and walking over, albeit reluctantly. Immediately she was within reach, he tugged on her hand and pulled her forward so that instead of sitting, she was standing right in front of him, his legs on either sides of her, caging her in.
Her eyes grew bigger and she bit on the inside of her lip hard. She would have probably turned a deep red if not for her dark complexion. Needless to say, her face was once again, turned away from him.
With her in his arms and the scent of her surrounding him, he felt his doubt lifting and he found himself smiling at how coy she was being. He didn't know it, but she was his peace.
"Talk to me. What's bothering you?"
Sophie shook her head. She didn't want to reveal that she'd been doubting him.
"I know there's something wrong. You're usually extra lively whenever you're around," he insisted. "Are you uncomfortable because I said I love you?" He knew that wasn't it, but he felt the need to ask.
Hearing the words again had angels singing a chorus in her head. Sophie was surprised he still managed to make her all tingly despite her embarrassed state. She shook her head vehemently to reassure him, it was quite the opposite really. "No. I... I like that. It's just..." She shrugged. She might as well just come clean about it. "I almost chickened out of coming when I thought about how you might have changed your mind and decided you wanted to pretend yesterday never happened."
Alex winced, thinking back to when that had happened, definitely not his proudest moment. He'd felt like the worst of scums when he'd said all those hurtful words to her.
Back to the present, he squeezed her hand that was still in his. She turned her gaze back to his and they held. "I'm sorry I ever did anything to make you feel that way. But I meant every single word I said to you yesterday. Nothing has changed. I'm in love with you and from now on, I'm going to do everything I can to prove it to you."
He was rewarded when a beautiful smile graced her lips, transforming her whole face. She was just so beautiful. His own smile grew when her arms wrapped around his neck. He hugged her back and placed a lingering kiss on her cheek. He couldn't be more grateful that he had gotten it right this time.
*********
I'm really really sorry for the very late update.
Also, this chapter was kinda rushed but I hope you enjoyed reading anyway.
That said,
Thank you all so much for 5k reads!
I really appreciate it.❤❤